The Walking Dead: Survival Instincts
by imerik001
Summary: After losing his father to Walkers on a hunting trip, Daryl Dixon and his loyal half uncle, Jess travel the zombie infested city of Atlanta, Georgia. Along the way, they meet and pick up survivors and learn about both a supposed cure and safe haven offering protection from the Walkers. The one question is: do they travel and work together or alone? (On hold)
1. Prologue

**Disclaimers: I do not own The Walking Dead or any of the characters, except for my OC characters**

 **A/N: Hello everyone, this is my first Walking Dead fanfic story based on the game, Survival Instincts. The general plot will be the same as the game, along with the characters and OC characters added to the story. The prologue will be starting with Daryl's father, Will and further chapters will be Daryl.**

 **Reviews and comments will be appreciated**

 **The Walking Dead: Survival Instincts**

 **Prologue**

It was another typical day in the beautiful country side of Atlanta, Georgia. At least...that's what the small band of hunters searching the grass covered ledges of the ridge thought. After they had arrived in the woods, they noticed something was wrong...they hadn't spotted a single game animal or tracks. It had also caused a slight sense of unease...due to the lack of noise or sight of wildlife.

The lead hunter of the group, William 'Will' Dixon, was in his 70's, dressed in a red/olive green checker patterned flannel shirt underneath a henna fleece hunting jacket, stone blue Carhartt jeans and dark brown Timberland hiking shoes. Will, his second born son, Daryl and half brother, Jesse 'Jess' Collins had left his brother's cabin after having a light breakfast. They had picked out what guns they were going to take with them before leaving the cabin; a Remington 700 bolt action rifle, a Glock 19 semi-automatic handgun and S&W Model 66 revolver.

"So...Dad." Daryl asked, feeling uneasy about how silent the forest was.

"What Daryl?" Will asked, while also feeling slightly nervous about how silent their surroundings were.

"Where are we supposed to meet your buddy, Buck?" His son asked as he and Jess overheard him and Buck talking over the phone. He was supposed to meet them at their usual meeting spot, where they planned their hunting strategies...but they didn't see him as they pulled up near the entrance to the woods.

"He could be scouting on ahead, trying to find any tracks or sign of game?" Jess suggested, as he, Will and Buck were veteran hunters and knew the mountains better than Darryl.

That was when they glanced down and noticed a disturbance in the soil beneath them; the tread impression of a hiking/hunting boot leading near the edge and down into the a creek bed leading further into the forest. The creek was almost dried up, as it held a small amount of water. Knowing it must've been Buck...since the three of them had just arrived.

"He could be. Jess, you and Daryl stick to the high ground. I'll navigate the ravine and try to find Buck." Will ordered and the tone of his voice left no room for argument from either of them.

"Yeah...whatever you say, Pop." Daryl muttered softly, while glancing away from his father and Jess couldn't really blame the younger man..especially due to how he and his older brother had grown up living with their 'dad'.

"We'll come a sharp eye out for ya Dixon." Jess stated, while standing in between them, as he could tell that Will was angered by how Darryl acknowledged him as his father.

"Yes...you both do that." Will muttered, before safely approaching the edge of the ravine and climbing down, softly on his feet while slinging his Remington 700 over his right shoulder.

 _'The nerve of that kid...talking to me like I'm not his father! He was just lucky Jess was there to stop me from doing something I wouldn't regret!'_ The older Dixon mentally shouted in his head, while glancing back and secretly gritting his teeth from being disrespected by his second born child.

 _'I gave him and his good for nothing screwed up brother a roof over their heads and food to eat! They would at least bother to help me out! Do their chores and keep the house clean ever since Amelia died after complications from delivering Daryl!'_ Will continued shouting in his head, angry at how Daryl and Merle just stayed in the house being lazy and doing nothing while they were content with letting him work his fingers off to the bone!

 _'Wait a second...What the hell is...?'_ He asked as he spotted something that almost made his heart stop...three huge smears of blood painted on the solid rock sides of the narrow ravine.

 _'This...this is blood. But...it appears to be...at least a few days or a week old.'_ The older man stated while observing it and seeing it had started to turn black from being exposed to the sun and elements.

Will had continued navigating the creek bed, hearing nothing but the sound of his own footsteps as he walked in the low level water. He had also spotted two more smears of rotted blood on the rocks and feeling more cautious as every second passed.

"Dixon, hey! I can see Buck! He's over there signaling!" Jess called out overhead and pointed, due east past a narrow passage underneath a collapsed tree in a small opening in the ravine.

"I think he wants to show or tell us something! You'd better go see what he wants." His half brother added and suggested, as the older hunter was motioning for him and Will to join him.

"Where'd Daryl get to?" Will asked, since he told him to stay close to Jess!

"He's right behind me. Just go reach Buck and we'll catch up you two!" His half sibling stated and he did just that, without any further discussion.

The older Dixon had crouched underneath the tree and sucked in his stomach, while squeezing through the tight and narrow space between the two wall of rocks. He had also held his Remington 700 close to his chest, with the safety off and barrel pointed to the sky so it wouldn't go off, scaring any game animals away or killing himself by accident. As he had made it through the other side, he and Buck shared a soft smile after seeing each other.

"Dixon, it's good to see man." Buck stated as he and Will shook hands in a firm and friendly shake.

"It's good to see too old buddy." The older Dixon stated back, after they were finished shaking hands.

Buck was probably one of the few people that Will actually liked. They had met while he had gone out on his own hunting white tail deer. Ever since, they had met up and gone hunting every deer season, trying to bag an outstanding buck and hung out, smoking and drinking. Buck was ten years younger than has friend, currently in his 60's with a bald shaved head and white/gray beard and mustache. He wore a tan brown sportsman guide hunting hat, black rimmed eye glasses, an olive dark green flannel shirt over a black undershirt, brown belt, blue jeans and hiking shoes the same brand as his. He also had his Remington 700 slung over his shoulder while he had been waiting.

"How come you didn't wait for us?" Will asked, since Buck had agreed to wait for him, Jess and Daryl to pull up outside the woods and the four of them would hunt together.

"Well, I thought I'd try to find any sign of big game to hunt. Only I didn't have that much luck...until I spotted a white tail buck heading north, right up this next bend." His friend answered while explaining why he didn't wait for them.

"I didn't crouch down while I was tracking it and I don't want to risk scaring the deer off further, especially if he catches my scent." Buck further explained to why he had been signaling for either Will or Jess to come to him.

"Alright, wait here for Jess and Daryl, they're on the way. I'll go on ahead and try to spot that white tail." The older Dixon instructed as he reached for his Remington 700, released the safety and cocked the bolt while doing a brass check, making sure the .30-06 round in the chamber wouldn't jam on him and make the rifle useless.

Will had crouched down while he followed the hoof prints made from the white tail deer. He glanced back and saw that Buck had simply sat comfortably on a tree stump, waiting for half brother and son to catch up to them. He had quietly followed the bend, while softly brushing away and tree branches blocking his view. He had stopped in his tracks after spotting the deer that his friend had spotted and tracked...a mature white tail deer with a 6 point rack on each antler.

'Sorry big fella...light out for you.' He said in his mind, while he leveled the scope on his rifle with his eye.

The deer had been nibbling on a mouthful of grass in a clearing a good 50-60 yards away from the hunter's position. He took a deep breathe will resting his finger on the trigger and aimed the rifle directly where it's heart would be. He took aim while glancing through the modern day range finding reticle of his scope...but was surprised as a flock of birds had burst out from the trees and the deer glanced in his direction and fled further into the woods!

That was when he heard a gunshot echo out and heard a man screaming...with the voice and screams coming from Buck!

"Buck?" Will asked after hearing his friend shooting at something and screaming in complete horror!

He had took off running back to where he left his friend and felt his blood freeze in fear as Buck was screaming and yelling in sheer pain and agony!

"OH GOD! GET OFF ME! DIXON! HELP!" His friend screamed at the top of his lungs...and became silent, which worried the normally calm and unnerved hunter.

As he returned to where he left Buck resting...Will froze and became white as a ghost to what he was seeing. Two 'people' had been kneeling over Buck's dead body, a two separate bite marks on his shoulder blades and a third in the croon of his neck...with a gash and huge chunk of flesh torn out from the side of his neck. His friend's eyes had stared lifeless as the two 'people' had bit into his stomach; ripping the flesh and rib cage open...lapping up the blood spilling out of the wounds and eating the intestines/organs of their current kill.

"Buck...oh, my god." Will muttered, not believing these two 'insane killers' had literary mauled his friend his friend to death and struggled not throw up after seeing his friend, even though his stomach was betraying him.

Unfortunately...he never got the chance to, especially after the two 'killers' had turned to face him and a new sense of fear had overcame him. The 'killers' were in fact zombies, dead people that had come back to life!

'What the f...?' The older Dixon mentally asked, while not believing his own two eyes; zombies had just killed his friend and were approaching him!

"Stay away!" He shouted, as aimed his Remington Model 700 and fired a single round!

The .30-06 round had ejected from the chamber, striking the first Walker in the chest...and it simply shrugged the gunshot wound off! The Walker snarled angrily and Will gasped as he heard more growling/snarling coming from the forest! He had reloaded as fast as he could; pulling back the bolt and sliding it back before firing another round, this time aiming for the first Biter's head! It's decaying head had exploded after the high caliber round had passed through the front and back of its skull!

Just as he was about to eject the cartridge and slide the bolt back forward and fire again; he felt a sheer burning pain run through his body! He glanced back to see that a Walker, that had came out from the bend behind him and bit right into his right shoulder!

"Oh, god! Get off!" Will screamed in great pain, as its sharp teeth had penetrated his clothing and flesh!

He had curled the fingers of his left hand into a fist before pushing the undead off him, releasing its teeth from his right shoulder. The older man had landed a strong left hook to its decaying face, dislodging its neck bone and causing it to collapse on its right side. Before he knew it, Will had been tackled down onto the ground! The second Walker that had killed and been feasting on Buck, had him pinned by his shoulders...and lunged forward, sinking its teeth directly into his chest!

Will had screamed in great pain and agony as the Walker had tore away at his torso! As it had clawed away at his skin and ripping out a huge chunk of flesh, lapping away at the blood. As it was about to sink its teeth in again for another bite; a loud gunshot echoed out and a .357 Magnum round penetrated the left and right side of its skull!

"What the hell? Dixon!" Jess shouted as he had his S&W Model 66 and been the one who killed the Walker!

Just as he glanced down in shock after seeing his half brother dying from the fatal wounds he had just received from the Biters, another Walker had charged up behind him! The undead had grabbed a hold of Jesse's left arm and sunk its teeth in his humerus! He cried out and groaned in pain, before pulling his left arm back and out of the zombie's mouth! He aimed his .357 Magnum revolver and fired another single round; shooting it right in its opened mouth.

"No, no man!" Jess cried out in disbelief after seeing his sibling barely clinging onto life!

"Daryl, over here!" He called out as he spotted the younger man had examined Buck's dead and lifeless body!

"Dad?" Daryl asked softly, not believing that his father was dying on the ground, while reaching out for them!

"Oh, Dad, no!" He cried out, while falling to his knees and clutching the Glock 19 in his right hand!

"H...Help me..." Will begged while wheezing in a raspy voice, not wanting to turn into one of those things.

"We...we've got to do something! We-we can..." His younger son stuttered, trying to think of something to help his father but was forcibly brought onto his feet and facing his half-uncle.

"Daryl, there's nothing we do for him. He's too busted up!" Jess scolded his half-nephew, for trying to think they could save his father.

"The only thing we can do...is end his suffering." He sadly concluded, while he and Daryl glanced down to see Will still clinging onto life, with his breathing still weak.

The younger Dixon had pulled back the slide of his Glock and aimed the barrel of his handgun directly at his father's face. He simply couldn't fire the Glock, with his hand shaking and Jess looked at him with a look that was both a combination of sympathy and disgust. He knew Daryl wanted to fire the gun...but just couldn't bring himself to do it, especially after he aimed the Glock a second time and still didn't fire.

Jess had simply snatched the Glock out of his right hand before placing his S&W Model 66 in his left and Daryl didn't bother to fight him. He saw the younger man turn and walk away, as he couldn't bring himself to watch. He really couldn't really blame him as he sadly glanced down at his brother one last time.

"I'm sorry brother." He apologized before firing a single 9mm bullet from the barrel and ending Will's misery.

 **A/N: Here is the ending to the prologue. The next chapter will be the first episode of the game, at Jess's hunting cabin. Until then, take care.**


	2. Cabot Ridge

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any of the characters, except for my OC characters**

 **A/N: Hello everyone, here is the 1st chapter with the Cabot Ridge episode, with one major twist; Daryl will use what weapons he can find, but will keep his Glock 19 as his main handgun.**

 **Reviews and comments will be appreciated.**

The Walking Dead: Survival Instincts

Chapter 1: Cabot Ridge

After Daryl and Jess had gotten climbed in and drove off in Jess's white painted 1962 Ford F-150 pick-up. Both men had remained silent the drive back to the cabin, secretly mourning Will and Buck in their own way. While driving back to the cabin, Jess had offered Daryl his Glock 19 back...which he slowly accepted. The younger Dixon was glad that Jess was with him...as he was all that he had left, along with his brother, Merle.

Once they pulled outside of the cabin, both Daryl and Jess had climbed out of the 1962 F-150 and entered the cabin. After stepping inside, the younger man had walked into his bedroom and closed the door behind him. Jess, respecting his half nephew's need for personal space and time alone, decided to try to bandage himself up; stitch up the bite mark or find something to hide it before he got any worse. He still couldn't believe what he and his half brother's younger son had witnessed; how a small number of zombies had ambushed and mauled both Buck and Will to death!

After he closed the door, Daryl had walked up to the sink in his bedroom and turned both faucets, having both the hot and cold water running at the same time. He had cupped small amounts of water in his hands underneath the outlet and splashed it over his face. The younger Dixon had glanced up back to the dirty stained mirror and glared, disgusted at himself for not ending his father's suffering. He wanted to shoot the son of a bitch for all the pain he put him and his brother through while growing up and when he had the chance...he couldn't bring himself to do it!

 _'What the hell is wrong with me? I had the perfect chance to end that old bastard's suffering and I just fucking stood there! Even Jess was disgusted with me!'_ Daryl mentally shouted, as he was just as angry and disgusted with himself for not pulling the trigger!

 _'I don't even know what to feel right now, to be thrilled or sad that 'man' is finally dead! After everything that son of a bitch did to me and Merle after Mom died...he was lucky those Walkers got to him first, because I was going to shoot that asshole when his back was turned!'_ The younger Dixon stated, while thinking back to every single day that Will had beat him and his brother, when he was sober or drunk off his ass!

He had secretly planned to kill his father before they had even saw or learned about the Biters...but they saved him the trouble. Daryl had glanced to his right, staring at the photo of him and brother, deer hunting out in the same woods tacked up to the wall. Merle had been kneeling and holding the deer's head up by its antlers. He had his left arm wrapped around his brothers right shoulder and holding a Horton Scout HD 125 crossbow in his right. The person who had taken the photo of them with the buck that day was Jess.

Daryl had then turned to glance back into the mirror, with a strong sense of self-loathing before bringing his right hand up and curled his fingers into a fist. He had immediately smashed his knuckles into the mirror, causing the glass to shatter. After getting that small amount of anger out of his system, he glanced towards down to the nightstand next to his bed and picked up every experienced hunter's best friend next to the hunting rifle...a Pathfinder hunting knife, with a stainless steel blade.

After he had calmed down, the younger man had opened his bedroom door and stepped out, seeing Jess standing next to a table in the center of the room.

"Daryl, come here. We need to work up a plan." His half uncle ordered, as had placed two tan brown large size Unisex hiking backpacks on the wood covered floor.

"Jess, have you ever seen anything like those before?" The younger Dixon asked, as they saw and heard a huge number of Walkers outside the house.

"No and if you had me told about it before, I'd probably call you a liar." The older man stated, with a look showing he still couldn't believe there zombies walking around.

"Listen, there's more of them out there." Daryl stated, as they could hear the Biters, snarling and growling outside through the thin wood wall and glass windows.

"They must've followed the tracks from our truck. We gotta go!" Jess exclaimed, as he realized the Walkers must've followed the tire tracks from the forest to their cabin!

"What we gotta do is kill every last one of those fuckin' things out there!" The younger man stated, showing he wanted to hunt down every Walker that was outside!

"Daryl, I know you're upset, but just listen; that sounds like a whole bunch of them out there and we don't have any military weapons to take on a large number of those things." His uncle stated, while rolling his eyes at how immature and reckless he was thinking and acting after losing Will.

"We've got to go now! Gather up whatever you think is useful in your backpack and meet me out by the truck." Jess ordered, due to thinking more clearly than the younger man as he knew it would be a matter of time before the Walkers tried to break the front door down.

"Alright. I'll search around the back and see if there's any fuel left we can use while we hit the road." Daryl stated, while thinking more levelheaded as he knew playing it smart was better than playing it stupid when it came to survival.

"Also Daryl, remember what we learned about them. Head trauma; attack the brain! That's the only way we know that kills them!" His uncle exclaimed, while reminding him that delivering a powerful swing from a blunt weapon or shooting them directly in the head were the only two methods that completely killed a Walker.

"And remember to keep it quiet! When you sneak out the back door, don't let them see you." Jess added sternly, as he and Daryl knew that the sound of the engine from the truck was what attracted the Biters and was how they were followed!

Daryl knew that his uncle was right; he had to be stealthy when it came to getting around the Walkers. He had to rely using either his knife or whatever blunt object he found and saved using his Glock or any other gun as a last resort.

"Here's a silencer for your Glock. It should muffle the gunshots so the Biters won't hear." Jess pointed to a makeshift silencer that he and Will had been working on two months ago on the table.

The younger Dixon had looked at the silencer and was impressed by the attention to detail both his father and Jess put into making it. The silencer was made by following the instructions of using two PVC pipes; one short, one long. Normally, making homemade silencers would be illegal, but given what was happening right here and now: it wouldn't matter. Daryl had picked up the silencer from the table and screwed it over the barrel, tightening it on securely so it wouldn't fall off while being fired.

That was when they saw multiple decayed arms punching through the windows and shattered glass falling onto the floor. Daryl and Jess slightly gasped and backed away in surprise, but quickly regained their composure. As the Walkers started pounding on the locked front door, Jess had pulled out his S&W Model 66, which he tucked into his pants waist underneath his black undershirt and orange hunting vest.

While the zombies had continued trying to claw their way inside, Daryl wasted no time in stuffing whatever items he thought would need into his hiking pack; four bags of MRE and three plastic bottles of energy drinks. He considered about taking the claw hammer, also on the table, but decided against it as the blade of his hunting knife would penetrate the decayed skull of the Walkers more easily than a measly hammer. Plus, he figured Jess would need it more than him, as he needed a blunt weapon when his .357 Magnum revolver ran out of ammo.

Before walking out the back door, Daryl had grabbed a box of .30-06 Winchester cartridge rounds. Needing to make sure it had enough ammo for when he acquired a Remington 700, the younger man opened the ammo box and chuckled softly to himself, as it currently held fifteen rounds. He had crouched down before turning the knob and opening the door, he had spotted a single Walker already outside the back of the cabin. But fortunately for him, it was too busy snacking on another Biter, that Daryl obviously assumed was killed by the one snacking on it. He now learned the Walkers would turn on and devour each other, especially if there was no 'fresh food' to consume.

Daryl had took his hunting knife out and crept up behind the Walker, as it was too busy gnawing off a chunk of rotted flesh from the complete dead Biter's right leg. He raised the knife over the zombie's head and just as it smelled him, the younger man had impaled the blade through the top of its skull. The zombie had gave one last growl, as the tip of the blade had penetrated its brain and collapsed flat face.

He had drawn out his Glock 19 while walking along the path and spotted another Biter, a female, blocking his path. Taking aim, Daryl had leveled the iron sight of his Glock with the zombie's forehead and pulled the trigger. The single 9mm round had penetrated the Walker's forehead above the right eye and it fell to its knees and then its left side. Thanks to the silencer, none of the other zombies had heard the gunshot and came running to where he was. The younger man had continued forward, following the dirt path, using the boulders and bushes for cover and stopped, as he approached the two sheds that both his 'dad' and Jess used: one, to skin the white tail deer they hunted the second, where they kept their hunting rifles.

Daryl had crouched down and crept up behind a Walker, that was tearing apart a garbage bag and searching for something that it could eat. He had sneaked up behind the zombie and impaled his knife through the back of its head. The Biter had made one 'gurgle' like sound before Dixon had pulled the blade out of its skull and pressed his right leg up and coldly pushed the completely lifeless corpse flat on its face. He had grabbed another box of .30-06 Winchester rounds, checked it and saw it held eight bullets.

Daryl had grabbed the Remington 700 bolt action rifle that had been left resting upward on the stock and started to load the gun. He had pulled back the bolt and started loading six rounds, one by one while pushing a .30-06 round on top of each other and slid the bolt upward. The younger man had placed the last two rounds into his backpack and grabbed the handheld red painted 5 gallon fuel container. He had broke into a fast run before placing the hunting sling over his left shoulder.

The younger Dixon had skidded to a brief stop, as he spotted a single male Walker lingering back and forth a larger shed that held another 5 gallon container. It was near a broken down Hyundai compact SUV that was completely beyond repair and unsalvageable. After waiting patiently for the Biter to turn around, Daryl had crept up behind the Walker and impaled the tip of his knife above its skull! The zombie had gave one last moaned growl before falling flat face on its stomach.

Dixon had collected the second fuel container and walked around the bend, entering an opening outside the cabin where he, Merle, their 'dad' and Jess had used as a trash disposal. The only problem was...it was crawling with six-seven Walkers! He crouched down while making his way behind a broken down and rust covered dark blue painted Ford four door sedan and thankfully, not one the Walkers had spotted or noticed him. Daryl gave a soft sigh of relief, as the Biters didn't spot him and after seeing there were a lot empty glass bottles for him to use a distraction. If the zombies were attracted to loud noise, maybe he could use that to his advantage.

Before he sneaked over a picnic table that his 'dad' had thrown away, Dixon had placed another box .30-06 Winchester rounds, which held seven rounds into his backpack. He had picked the empty glass bottle by the neck, mentally calculating on how far he was planning to toss it and if the Walkers in the clearing would hear it shatter into small pieces. Daryl had also took out his silenced Glock, having ready before he tossed the bottle. After throwing his wrist back and releasing the glass bottle, it flew overhead and smashed into the wooden fence that showed Jess's cabin and land was private property to trespassers wandering around or park rangers patrolling the woods.

Every single Walker in the clearing had snarled after hearing the glass bottle shatter. Daryl knew his plan had worked and immediately leveled the iron sight of his handgun with his eye as he aimed directly for each of the Biter's heads. He pulled the trigger seven times, firing a single silenced 9mm as he moved his right hand, left to right. The younger man smiled, as each Walker had collapsed after being shot only once and started to get cocky; thinking that the zombies weren't that hard to kill or outsmart. He had collected a third and final fuel container and started to make his way back to the front of the cabin.

The younger man had skidded to a stop, as he gasped by how many Walkers were patrolling around the front yard and Jess's 1962 Ford pick-up. He counted at least ten-thirteen Walkers and knew there was no way of sneaking past any of them. He drew out his Remington 700, crouched down into the kneeling position and took aim before pulling the trigger. He leveled the scope with his eye, glancing through the reticle and waited for a Walker to enter his line of fire. The moment two Biters crossed his scope, he pulled the trigger and both their skulls exploded; their heads shattered into a cloud of blood and rotted flesh before their headless bodies collapsed!

Daryl had immediately ejected the live round from the chamber and reloaded, as the remaining Walkers charged in! He had fired another single .30-06 Winchester round, passing through two more Biters skulls and watched them explode after the high caliber round obliterated their decayed heads! The younger man swiftly repeated the process, ejected the shell from the chamber and got ready to fire again. He fired another single round and only killed a single Walker this time.

"Daryl, come on! Get in the truck so we can the Hell out of here!" Jess shouted, as he had gotten into the cab of his 1962 Ford pick up while his half-nephew had searched and collected the fuel!

"Hey, I'm coming! I'm coming!" Daryl shouted back, as he had made a clear path straight to the truck and broke into a fast sprint with the remaining Walkers giving chase!

"Go, go, go!" He shouted as he climbed into the passenger side, but not before tossing the three gallon containers into the back of the truck and locking the door after closing it behind him!

"Hold on Daryl! This is going to get hairy!" His half-uncle ordered as he put the pedal to the metal and drove off at high speed!

Both Jess and Daryl sighed in relief as the Biters could not keep up with the truck and knew they were safe for the time being. Jess had gone at a much slower speed, as he didn't want to burn through all the remaining gas that was left in the tank. There was only two question's on both their minds: what the hell do they do now and where do they go?

 **A/N: There it is everyone, the ending to 1st chapter. The next chapter will be about the Sedalia level of the game, where Daryl will meet a handful of survivors.**


	3. Sedalia

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead or any of the characters, except for my OC's**

 **A/N: Alright everyone, here is the second chapter, where Daryl and Jess arrive in the town of Sedalia, where they meet and befriend what survivors are still alive.**

 **Reviews and comments will be appreciated**

 **The Walking Dead: Survival Instincts**

 **Chapter 2: Sedalia**

The drive from Cabot Ridge had been slightly uneasy, as both Jess and Daryl hadn't said a single word after being miles ahead of the Walkers back at the cabin.

"Damn, my cell phone is out. That's just great." Jess groaned to himself after he took out his cell phone and realized he didn't have any reception, which meant the power lines along the road were out of electricity.

"Hey, um, Daryl?" He started out softly, so he wouldn't upset his nephew any further than he already was.

"Yeah?" The younger man asked, as he had a feeling what his uncle was about to say.

"About your dad...I really don't know what to say." Jess answered softly, as there was nothing he could say to make him feel better for all those years he and Merle had to live with Will's abuse.

"Then don't! It's not like that bastard was really like a father to me or Merle growing up!" The younger Dixon snapped, not really at his uncle...but rather lashing out at his dead 'father'!

"We've got to tell Merle what happened." He stated softly, as he felt that his older brother needed to know what happened with Will and Buck.

"Yeah, I suppose we should. But we need to warn any surviving people first." His uncle stated, while not feeling comfortable with the idea about letting Daryl's brother knowing their old man was dead.

"What? Go to the cops? No way! We've got to get Merle!" Daryl countered, not feeling too keen about going to the cops, especially since his brother was last heard and seen being arrested in Fontana for being drunken disorderly.

"Merle...he's, well, he's just not right in the head." Jess countered softly, not really wanting the older Dixon around Daryl, as he had gotten involved with a hardcore biker gang and drugs.

"What did you just say old man?! Merle is ten times the man you'll ever be!" His nephew snapped angrily, not liking how Jess was talking about his older brother!

When Jess wasn't around, it had been Merle the one protecting him from their 'dad's' abuse...and he had gotten the worst of it. All those years of abuse had really messed Merle up, which was what made him get involved with drugs..mostly crystal meth.

"Hey, you calm down! All I'm saying is that everything turns to shit, especially whenever you two are together!" His uncle snapped back, not liking how Daryl had just spoke to him and saying he wasn't 'man' enough to cut it!

"I'm sorry Jess...it's just that...Merle was always there for me growing up." Daryl apologized, realizing he was out of line for talking to his uncle the way he just did and started feeling bad for how he reacted.

"It's okay Daryl...and I'm sorry too. I'm sorry for being so blind to what Will had done to you boys and not being there like I should've." Jess apologized too, knowing his nephew was still angry for all the pain his brother had done to him and Merle and not being there to protect them.

"Alright...if we're going to Fontana to get your brother, we're going to need gas, along with weapons and ammo. And I just know the place where to stock up on supplies." He stated, while driving his 1962 Ford pick up and accelerating after pressing softly down on the pedal.

"We going to Sedalia?" Daryl asked, while already knowing where they were going to search for and salvage supplies.

"Yep, that would be the place." His uncle answered, while smirking since their minds practically thought alike and Jess had took Daryl with him plenty of times to stock up on ammo for their Remington 700 hunting rifles.

The drive didn't take that long, as Sedalia was practically a 15-20 minute road trip from the mountains towards the small town. Only to Daryl's and Jess's complete surprise; the roads outside the once business stores, pharmacy and apartment buildings were flooded with numerous cars! They counted over a dozen vehicles; ranging from sedans, coupes, compact minivans and SUV's manufactured from Nissan, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota and RAM. But that wasn't the only thing blocking the road; there was also a white/blue painted Peterbilt 379 cab truck carrying a tank car with a flatbed top parallel parked in the center!

"Oh, for God's sake!" Jess shouted not believing how someone could park a semi-truck lugging a tank car in the middle of the street!

"Oh, that's perfect. That's just friggin' perfect!" His nephew growled, not believing how flooded the street was with so many abandoned vehicles!

After pressing down on the brakes, both Daryl and his uncle had stepped out of their truck and closed the doors as softly and quietly as they could. If there were any Walkers prowling around they would not hear the doors to the truck being open and shut. But that's when they noticed something unexpected; two different vehicles were parked the same way as their truck, a navy blue 1992 Hyundai Scoupe sedan and a brown/white 1995 Ford Bronco SUV.

"Look's like we're not the only one's who had the same idea." Jess stated, while admiring the conditioning of the 1989 Sentra sedan and 1995 Bronco.

"Yeah, looks like it...and there's no way driving through, which means we have to search the town on foot." Daryl nodded in agreement, while pointing out their one and only option.

"Ugh, those damn things must've came through here before reaching our cabin and the hunting ground!" His uncle stated, while growling at the possibility that the Walkers must've attacked Sedalia first before making their way to Cabot Ridge.

"I'm thinking you're right Jess. The whole place is like a ghost town and DMZ." The younger Dixon agreed, since there had been signs of multiple struggles...as they had spotted multiple pools of blood and drag marks outside the cars, SUV's and trucks!

"If there's any gas left, it'll be at Lucky's." Jess stated, while pointing out their best chance to find fuel at the local gas station, owned by a local known only as 'Lucky Les'.

Before they started searching for anything useful, both Jess and Daryl made sure they had enough ammo to last them for the next couple of hours, if not days. They also knew they wouldn't make it through a Walker infested town or anyplace lurking with zombies guns blazing; as the gunshots would be the equivalent of ringing the dinner bell for the undead to find them.

"I've only got two fully loaded clips for my Glock and seven in the one I've already got loaded, along with twenty-seven rounds for the Remington 700." Dixon stated, while telling his uncle how much ammo he had on him.

"Aw, shit...I've only got maybe 2-3 rounds left in the chamber and perhaps...2-3 fully loaded speed-loaders for my revolver." Jess muttered softly and in disgust, as he didn't have a better of choice of weapon or much ammo left.

"Jess...I want you to take my hunting rifle." His nephew stated softly, while offering him the bolt action rifle and all the ammo he collected from in and outside the cabin.

"Daryl...you sure?" His uncle asked, while surprised from being offered the Remington 700 from the younger man!

"I'm sure, you'll need it more than me. Besides, I might find another one somewhere in this town." Daryl assured his uncle about loaning him the Remington 700 and bringing up the possibility of acquiring another somewhere in the small town.

"Alright, I'll search around here for anything useful, while you make your way around to the other side." Jess stated while instructing his nephew to make his way around to reach the gas station while he searched the stores for any supplies.

"Okay, stay safe Jess." Daryl replied, while hoping that his uncle wouldn't get bitten again; which would make his condition no doubtingly worse.

"You too kid. Remember to always stay alert." The older man answered back, not wanting Daryl to suffer his same fate.

Before they parted ways, Dixon had taken out a red/black painted single handed flash light that would be perfect for navigating dark, empty buildings and outside at night. Seeing the only route to get around the Peterbilt cab truck was through the RX Pharmacy, Daryl slowly approached and entered the store, but not before turning his flash light on and having his hunting knife drawn out. He was surprised by what he saw after stepping inside pharmacy, the contents of the shelves; cold medicine, pain relievers for head aches, pills for joint pain and over the counter medication had been sprawled out all over the floor...along with two-three bloody drag marks.

There was nothing of value inside the pharmacy, as all the medication the store had in stock must've been expired or spilled out onto the filthy and blood stained tile floors. The only thing that Daryl had found useful, were two bottle of energy drinks that were left on the cashier counter. Knowing he could add them to the other bottles into his bag and have one later when he was thirsty, he placed the two bottles into his backpack. Dixon had also spotted that a door to a back office had been opened from the inside...which meant someone still alive had been inside the pharmacy not too long ago before he and Jess arrived.

He confirmed his suspicion after he stepped inside the back office...he spotted the bodies of two completely dead Walkers, sitting up while slumped over. The two zombies had been executed, while probably pretending to be 'dead'...as each Biter had a single gunshot to their forehead! There had also been two _very large_ blood splatters on the walls behind the Biters, which meant a very powerful caliber bullet!

 _'Someone had to been here very recently...these are very fresh kills.'_ Daryl stated in his mind, while examining the gunshot wounds to the Walker's decaying heads.

 _'.380 ACP casings. That explains the large blood splatters on the walls.'_ He added, while finding two ejected .380 rounds on the floor and knowing what caliber round was used to kill the two zombies.

Dixon had noticed the door leading to the back of the pharmacy was open, but before he headed back outside...he helped himself to something that would definitely come in handy; a lead pipe that had been left on a table. He placed his hunting knife in his backpack, as he was going to use his new blunt weapon against the Walkers. After stepping out in the back of the pharmacy, Daryl was surprised to see something truly unexpected...a pile of ten-fifteen Walkers all shoot dead, laying side by side to each other!

 _'Who the hell did all this?...'_ The young man asked, visibly surprised at seeing a small herd of Biters all shoot to death!

"Hey, you down there." A mysterious male voice called out from nowhere.

"Up here, on the roof!" The voice called out again, this time revealing a man on top of the roof of the supermarket next door to the pharmacy!

"Use the ladder by the dumpster and we'll talk!" The man called out again, while sliding down a ladder for Dixon to climb up and join him.

Daryl had climbed up the ladder, like the man asked and couldn't help but admire the nice sniper's nest/look out he had set up. The man was in fact a surviving cop; Caucasian in his late 20's, with brown hair in a shaved buzz cut and brown eyes. He wore an olive green button shirt underneath a dark blue police issued bulletproof vest, a black belt, dark blue jean, an olive green Quartermaster hat and black sneakers. His belt was carrying four separate police issued holsters; a holstered Beretta 92FS and a flashlight on the left and two Sedalia Police Department issued tactical radio holders on the right. There was also a Remington 700 PSS, a police issued version of the hunting rifle, resting on the stock next to brick wall behind him.

"This is a nice set up you've got here man." The young man stated, while walking up to the surviving police officer.

"Thanks. Name's Jimmy Blake. I'm what's left the Sedalia Police Department." The cop, now known as Jimmy Blake answered while introducing himself to Dixon.

"You're...You're the only cop that's still alive?" Daryl asked shocked after hearing Blake say he was the only police officer that was still alive!

"Yeah...my fellow officer's and I were not prepared for something like this. We managed to hold out, until we were running dry of ammo and after those who were infected turned, they eventually overwhelmed us. They wiped us out, one by one." Jimmy stated, while glancing down and mourning the deaths of his colleagues, along with all the civilians they failed to protect.

"I'm so sorry about the friends you lost...along with all the people who were killed by those things." Dixon stated softly, offering Blake his condolences about all the lives he couldn't save.

"But where did those things come from in the first place?" He asked wondering where the Walkers originated from.

"No one truly knows where the Biters came from. Where you did come from?" Blake answered, showing he was just in the dark as Daryl was and then finally noticed that he never saw him before.

"My uncle and I were up in the hills, hunting. We never knew about those psychos or saw them before until they tore up our camp." Dixon stated, while telling Jimmy where he and Jess came from, while leaving out the part about what happened with his 'dad' and Buck.

"Well, let me fill you in: there are more of those Walkers out there, not just in Sedalia but all over the state of Georgia. And they outnumber us. So we either help each other survive or we don't. That applies to any survivors, including, uh, 'hunters'. 10-4?" The surviving cop asked, while making sure that Daryl understood what he was saying.

"Yeah, I've got it. But whose 'we'?" The young man answered, while nodding to confirm he understood and noticing how Blake had just said 'we'.

"I'm not the only survivor left in town. There's a kid, whose holed up in the gas station...and another surviving deputy in the cell block inside the police station, he's a _**real**_ interesting kind of person." Jimmy answered while revealing there were at least two other survivors left, besides him.

"I want to do one last radio check before getting the hell out of here, though." He added, showing he wanted to reach out to any surviving cops in the neighboring county.

"Well, then do it." Dixon stated, as he wanted Blake to get on with it so they could get off the roof.

"I can't; the batteries have been dead the last two days and I can't find any fresh ones." Blake countered, showing he couldn't since the current batteries in his radio were dead.

"But if you could, I'd be happy to provide some cover fire from my sniper's nest up here. I'm a hell of a shot." He added, while offering his assistance if Dixon could find and provide him with new batteries.

"Alright, you got a deal. If I find any batteries, I'll bring them back here. I also need gas for my truck." Daryl replied, agreeing to let Blake join him and his uncle in exchange for his sharpshooting skills and seeing he could obviously hold his own.

"I think all the gas is long gone, but the kid would know better than me." Jimmy answered back, thinking that all the fuel was gone, but wasn't too sure.

"Where would I most likely find batteries for your radio?" The young man asked, since he needed to know where to look and not waste valuable time by running around like an idiot.

"I'm pretty sure there still might be some D size batteries left in the supply closet on the second floor inside the police station." Blake answered with a strong hunch on where to find the batteries he needed.

"Do you know anything about that pile of dead Biters down there?" Dixon asked, as he could tell that Blake had nothing to do with killing the Walkers back in the alley behind the supermarket and pharmacy.

"Yeah, a small group of other survivors had arrived possibly two hours before you and your uncle did." The cop answered, while revealing what had happened to the small army of dead Walkers down in the alley!

"There's another group of survivors? How many?" The young man asked surprised after hearing there were indeed other survivors!

"Three; two men and a woman. They were also armed with heavy assault weapons. They were here not to long ago. " Blake answered, while not sounding too worried about the people passing through.

"By the way, what's your name?" He added, as Daryl was about to climb back down the ladder and realizing he never asked asked his name.

"Daryl...My name is Daryl Dixon." Dixon stated, knowing that Blake deserved to know his name.

That was when multiple gunshots rang out and growling could be heard from the streets! Both Jimmy and Daryl had glanced over the side of the roof that gave them the perfect bird's eye view of the street with the gas and police stations. They had spotted a huge mob of Walkers surrounding another Peterbilt cab truck carrying a tank car with a flat bed top...and the three survivors shooting at the Biters!

The first man was Caucasian with light brown hair and light green eyes. He wore a charcoal gray long sleeve t-shirt underneath a dark blue Knocker's fleece zip-up vest, light blue Rustler jeans, red/black leather finger-less gloves and white/bluish gray Avia sneakers. The second man was Hispanic with light brown skin, curly black hair and dark brown eyes. The Hispanic wore an aquatic blue Hanes short sleeve t-shirt, underneath a red/black Athletic Works light training jacket, bronze stone Wrangler jeans and gray/white Athletic Works running sneakers. The woman with them was also Caucasian with dark brown hair and teal blue eyes. She wore a deep forest green women Hanes V-neck t-shirt underneath a dark navy blue light zipper jacket with a hoodie, indigo blue Lee Riders jeans and gray/blue Dr. Scholl's running shoes.

The two men were armed with two different assault rifles; a Colt Model 727 carbine outfitted with an Aimpoint M68 red dot scope and an AK-103 outfitted with a C-More red dot sight, along with standard 30 round magazines. The woman was armed with an H&K MP5A3 submachine gun, with a Surefire 628 weapon light attached underneath the barrel, AN/PEQ-2 side mounted laser sight and standard 30 round magazine. The Walkers had simply growled threateningly, before being met with a single 5.56mm, 7.62mm, or 9mm round from the three survivors shooting at them!

"Damn, those three are packing serious hardware!" Daryl stated, while whistling at the sight of the weapons the two men and woman were shooting!

But not wanting to waste any more time standing around, Dixon had climbed down the ladder as quietly as he could. After climbing off the ladder, he silently opened the back door to the supermarket and glanced around, but not before being startled by loud and unrelenting banging. Daryl had glanced to his right and heard one or more Walkers banging from the opposite side of a closed steel door, which was obviously a freezer for storing meat. Figuring the Walkers would either freeze to death or kill the other, the young man had ignored the Biter's growling and continued passing through the market. He was also fortunate, as whatever zombies that were in the market before, had heard all the shooting and tried to eat the three heavily armed survivors.

Before he exited the store, Daryl had decided to look around for anything useful; he didn't much find much, except for three glass bottles he could use to lure the Walkers away from him and a bag of food. He figured it would be a useful bargaining chip for ammo or fuel, so Dixon placed it inside his backpack. When he stepped out of the store...that was when something truly unexpected happened...he felt a red laser resting on left side of his head! He glanced to his left and saw the three survivors aiming directly at him!

"Wait, don't shoot! Don't shoot me! I'm not one of those things!" Dixon cried out, begging them not to shoot him!

The Hispanic man and Caucasian woman had slowly lowered their weapons, except for the man armed with the Colt Model 727...and he was about to pull the trigger!

"No, man! Don't!" Daryl cried out again, while shielding his face and two separate gunshot rang out!

He gasped while closing his eyes and thinking he had been shot twice, but he never felt the 5.56x45mm rounds pass through him! Dixon had opened his eyes and realized he was okay! That was when he felt and heard two bodies fall onto the hard pavement of the sidewalk behind him and turned around. Much to Daryl's surprise, it was in fact two Walkers that the man had shot and killed, not him! He saw the three survivors climbing down from the flat bed top of the tank car and he approached them.

"Thanks for saving my ass man, I owe you one." The young man stated, while being mightily impressed with his sharpshooting skills with that assault rifle.

"Don't mention it. But those weren't the last of those damn Walkers." The Caucasian man stated, while speaking in a clear Texan accent.

"Yeah, man. Every time we kill one of those fuckin' things, another just takes its place!" The Hispanic man spoke in a clear American accent, suggesting he was born and raised in America, instead of Mexico.

"What are you doing here by yourself hon'?" The woman asked, while speaking in a Southern accent, having Daryl think she was born and raised here in Atlanta, or was maybe from Louisiana or South Carolina.

"I'm not here by myself, I'm with my uncle. We came here hoping to find supplies; mainly gas." Dixon answered, explaining what he was doing on this side of town.

"We came here thinking the same thing. We guess you already met Jimmy up on that roof?" The Texan armed with the Colt Model 727 asked, while placing the quick adjust two point sling attached to his carbine over his right shoulder.

"Yeah, he told me about the three of you and about the kid whose holed up in Lucky's." Daryl answered, while confirming he met Blake and how he told him to talk to the young man in the gas station.

"Same as us; Blake told us to talk to the kid about any fuel left. We were heading that way...until those zombies spotted us." The Hispanic male replied, saying they were heading to the gas station until the Walkers saw and attacked them.

"Why don't you stick with us? We can make it out of this town if we work together." The Southern woman suggested, while the Texan and Hispanic turned to each other and nodded, showing they agreed to that idea.

"Alright...I guess we can give it a shot." Daryl answered after giving her proposal some serious thought, especially after remembering Blake's words from earlier.

"Alright, since we're going to be working together, I guess we should tell you our names. I'm Sam...Sam Harmon." The Texan, now known as Sam stated.

"Name's Oscar Martinez, amigo." The Hispanic armed with the AK-103, know known as Oscar stated shortly after Sam.

"My name's Alexis Clark, but feel free to call me 'Lexi'." The Southern woman armed with the MP5A3, now known as Alexis added.

"Nice to meet you and your group Sam. My name is Daryl...Daryl Dixon." The young man answered, after learning their names and telling them his.

The four of them had approached the Lucky Les' gas station and spotted at least three-four Walkers locked in the mechanic shop section. That was when they heard a male voice calling out to them.

"Hey. Hey, over here...by the window!" The voice whispered softly, but loud enough for them to see the kid that Jimmy told them about, barricaded in the store section of the gas station.

The kid was Caucasian, in his early to mid 20's, possibly 25, with brown hair in a buzz cut hair style and gray blue eyes. He wore a dirty plain white t-shirt, a dark blue cap, a black belt with a gold buckle, black slim jeans and track/running shoes.

"You must be the kid that Blake told us about." Sam stated the obvious, while Oscar, Daryl and Alexis kept a lookout for any Walkers still prowling around near the gas station.

"Yeah, you guys need gas right? I can help provide you some. My name's Warren Bedford." The young man stated, while telling Daryl, Sam and his group his name.

"How long have you been locked up in there?" Daryl asked, while curious to how long he'd been holed up in the gas station.

"Not that long, only three hours. I was taking shelter here with my dad and Uncle Lester when the Eaters showed up. I know all the cops are dead except for Blake." Warren answered, while explaining how long he'd been hiding in the gas station and gesturing to the roof of the supermarket; showing he knew that Jimmy was still alive.

"Wait, did you just say 'Uncle Lester'? As in Lucky Les?" Dixon asked surprised, after hearing the kid reveal that he was related to the owner of the station!

"Yeah, the very same. He and Dad left to see who was still left alive, but...I don't they're ever coming back. And Uncle Lester has the key to the generator cage..." Bedford answered, confirming that Lucky Les was indeed his uncle and knowing that both he and his father were probably dead, as they should've returned by now.

"So that's how we get the gas pumps running again?" Oscar asked, after learning the importance to the keys Warren's uncle had with him.

"Bingo. You guys will have to get the keys, crank the generator, I'll use my codes to turn on the pumps and we get the hell outta here. Win-win." The young man nodded, while explaining that the keys will unlock the cage to the generator for the pumps.

"You're coming with us now?" Daryl asked with sarcasm in his voice.

"Ha, I'm not staying here buddy! Do we have a deal or not?" Warren countered sarcastically, while asking if they had a deal.

"Sam what do you think?" Alexis asked, as she and Oscar turned to Harmon, showing he was the leader of the three.

"You've got a deal Warren. We bring you the key and you give us the fuel, you can come with us." Sam answered, showing he felt that Bedford could be useful to them while traveling on the road.

"Did your uncle or father say where they were headed?" Oscar asked since he, Sam, Alexis and Daryl had no idea where Warren's uncle and father went off to.

"Yeah, they were heading to the trailer park that's not too far from here. We have family there. If you guys follow that path behind that wall near the police station, you'll find the front entrance." Bedford answered, while explaining where his uncle and dad had gone to look for survivors.

"There's only one problem Sam. Blake asked me to bring him batteries from the police station." Daryl stated, showing he needed to get the batteries that Jimmy needed to contact any surviving cops.

"Okay...Daryl, do you know what this 'Lucky Les' looks like?" The Texan asked, since he figured that Dixon knew what Warren's uncle looked like.

"Yeah, of course." The young man answered, while already knowing what Harmon was getting at.

"Oscar, you go with him to the trailer park and get the keys. Lexi and I will get the batteries and bring them to Blake." Sam instructed, while pairing Dixon with Martinez and partnering Clark with him.

"Got it Sam. Let's get going Daryl." Oscar answered showing he was alright with being partnered with Dixon to retrieve the keys.

"Alright, let's do this." Dixon answered back, while drawing out his Glock 19, with the makeshift silencer still attached.

"Sam, you and Lexi should take this. It could come in handy when you guys meet the cop whose holed up in the police station." He added, before also taking out the bag of food he found in the market and handed it to Harmon, who carefully placed in his backpack for safe keeping.

They had split up into two teams like they agreed and planned; Daryl and Oscar to the trailer park, Sam and Alexis to the police station. While the followed the path to the trail park, they saw the trail was crawling with a huge number of Walkers! But thankfully, with reloading his AK-103 with a fully loaded magazine, Martinez had made reaching the entrance a walk in the park. He had fired a single 7.62mm round from his AK, killing a single Biter one after the other as he and Daryl had walked down the path. His partner had even helped out, by firing a silenced 9mm bullet into the skulls of zombies, pretending to be dead near the cars, trucks and SUV's also on the trail.

After they reached the front entrance to the trailer park, Oscar had slung his AK over his right shoulder, lifted up his shirt and pulled out a handgun that he had been carrying holstered on the right side of his belt. His sidearm was a gold plated IMI Mk. 7 Desert Eagle semi-auto handgun.

"Have you been carrying that pistol this whole time?" Dixon asked, while staring surprised by what kind of handgun his partner had on him!

"Yeah, I figured this would be a good time to use my good old trusty .44 Desert Eagle. Got a problem with that?" Martinez stated, while demanding to know if Daryl had a problem with him deciding on when to use his weapons.

"No, I don't have a problem. I was just wondering if that AK was the only weapon you had on ya." The young man answered, while explaining he was just surprised that Oscar had such a powerful pistol on his person.

That was when they discovered the trail park was infested with a huge mob of Walkers...were they running after they heard the 'dinner bell ringing'! Both Daryl and Oscar had gotten back to back and immediately took aim with their own handgun. After they leveled the iron sight with their own eye, they both fired a large number of times while aiming for the Biter's heads!

"Where do you think we can find this, 'Lucky Les'?" Oscar asked after firing a single .44 Magnum round that passed through the skulls of two Walkers and killing another on his right with another single round!

"Those trailer's in the center of the park? That's where he's sure to be!" Daryl answered over the shooting; firing three single 9mm rounds that kills three zombies in one head shot and killing a fourth Walker charging in on his left!

 _'I sure hope Sam and Alexis are doing better than we are!'_ He mentally added, while hoping that Harmon and Clark didn't run into that much trouble in the police station!

 _~With Sam and Alexis~_

After they made their way towards the back of the police station, Sam and Alexis had carefully and stealthily killed three Biters; two hiding behind dumpsters and one laying dead between two abandoned Sedalia Police issued 1996 Chevy Caprice cruisers. When they entered the building and closed the door behind them, Harmon and Clark had slung their Colt Model 727 and MP5A3 over their right/left shoulder and drew out their own personal handguns. Sam had two 3rd Generation Glock 17's with stainless steel slides on him, but only drew out one and Alexis had drew out a single Bersa Thunder 380 Super semi-auto with a fully loaded .380 ACP clip.

They had spotted and heard at least five Walkers inside the police station; three munching on separate completely dead corpses and two locked up in separate holding cells. Before they started shooting, Sam and Lexi had pushed an empty police desk in front of the door, to barricade the remaining Walkers outside. They knew it would be a pointless gesture and cost them a huge amount of time; but it would the Biters down and they could give them a hell of a chase. After they successfully barricaded the back door, they aimed their handguns at the three Walkers that heard them.

Sam had fired four rounds from his Glock while shifting aim; two 9mm bullets had passed through the left side and center of the skulls of the two Walkers that were coming for him! Alexis had fired a single .380 ACP round and it obliterated the head of the Biter that came lingering in towards her! It's skull had exploded and headless corpse had collapsed to its knees after being shot. They both glanced behind them after they heard the fence outside the back door being hacked to pieces, along with multiple growls from what sounded like a huge herd of Walkers!

"Where do we go Sam?" Alexis asked, while trying not to sound or being afraid!

"We head to the second floor! I remember a ladder on the fire escape before we walked in!" Her partner answered, while sounding a little rattled after hearing the fence being ripped apart through the barricaded door!

What they didn't expect was hearing more growling from inside the police station, as a closed door which lead to another room, was being ripped apart from the opposite side! They had jumped as the Walkers outside had made their way to the barricaded door and started hacking away at the weakened wood! Not wanting to waste another second in the current room, both Sam and Alexis broke into a fast run, but not before picking up something that would definitely come in handy; a fully loaded S&W Model 66 revolver and ammo box carrying eight .357 Magnum rounds! Lexi placed both the revolver and ammo in her backpack before she and Harmon entered the next room, which was filled with four Biters!

After they swiftly shot and killed the Walkers, they entered an interrogation room due to the door being unlocked and another weapon they could use: a Remington 700 bolt action rifle, along with an ammo box filled with a dozen .30-06 rounds! Sam whistled while he examined the hunting rifle and decided he'd give it to Daryl when they met up at the gas station. As he already had his Colt carbine...he really didn't need the Remington 700, but figured that Dixon would.

After he slung the bolt action hunting rifle over his right shoulder, along with his Colt Model 727 and placed the ammo in his backpack, he and Lexi continued towards the 2nd floor! They had killed a number of Biters, that came lingering down the stairs; shooting out their legs/heads and watched them trip, falling down the stairs while climbing up two flights. They couldn't help but glance back, as they heard the desk slowly being shoved away, which meant...the Walkers had made it inside the police station!

Once they reached the second floor, Sam and Alexis had immediately went straight to the supply closet...where they found the D size batteries Blake needed!

"Yes, we've got the batteries that Jimmy needs!" Clark cried out, happy that something was finally going their way after they arrived in the town!

"Let's try to find that surviving deputy he told us and Dixon about. Maybe he has something valuable to trade." Harmon stated while smiling that he and his partner found and got what they came for.

They wouldn't have to look hard as they heard a male voice shouting out across the room!

"What was all that shooting downstairs?! Is someone out there?!" An agitated voice demanded while crying out behind a closed door, which revealed an office space and holding cell...with the deputy sitting on a bench and a cache of ammunition in the corner of the cell!

The deputy was in his late 20's to mid 30's, Caucasian with black hair in a buzz cut hair style, wearing a dark green cap with the word, 'SHERIFF' enlarged in front, dark rimmed glasses, a matching dark green undershirt with a star badge logo on the left side, a brown belt with a gold buckle, dark blue jeans and dark brown hiking shoes.

"Hey! What are you two doing here?!" The deputy asked in a harsh and angry tone, which slightly angered Sam and Alexis!

"You must be the deputy Blake told us about. Who lock you up?" Harmon asked, while restraining himself from shooting the man.

"I locked me up! The name is Kessler and I'm guarding this cache until Sheriff Turner arrives from Pemberton to relieve me!" The deputy answered angrily, while revealing he locked himself up to protect both the ammo and himself from the Walkers!

"Guarding it from who? The Biters?" Alexis asked, while already knowing the answer to her question.

"No, from the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny. Yes, from the fuckin' ghouls! Are you both retarded or some...!" Kessler answered sarcastically and snapped acidly, but was cut off from finishing his sentence as two gunshots had missed his face!

"Talk to me and my friend like that again and the next two bullets will be for your balls and head." Sam snarled angrily, while pointing his Glock 17 at the deputy and smoke coming from the barrel of his gun!

"Look, I'm sorry for lashing out at you and your friend, son. I really am. I'm just hungry and I haven't eaten anything the last two days." The deputy swallowed, before apologizing to Sam and Alexis for talking to them the way he did and explained he was suffering from starvation.

"If either of you have any food...I'd be willing to trade some ammo from the cache." He added, offering them a deal that neither of them could refuse.

"Yeah...we have some food we can trade. A friend of ours found this...we know its not much, but..." Alexis answered after Harmon had taken out the bag of food Daryl had given them and he offered it to Kessler.

"Just what the doctor ordered." Kessler stated while smiling and accepting the bag of food and sighed after smelling the delicious contents after opening it.

"A deal is a deal; here's a few .30-06 and .357 Magnum rounds for that bolt action rifle you have there and any S&W Model 66 revolvers you find." He stated as he honored the bargain they made; offering them two dozen .30-06 rounds and eighteen .357 Magnum rounds.

"You sure you wanna stay in that cell? You could always come with us." Sam asked, while feeling concerned about Kessler's health staying locked up.

"Listen kid, I appreciate your's and you're friend's concern, but I'll be fine here. Those things can't break through solid concrete or hard steel." The deputy stated, while returning to his bench so he could enjoy his newly acquired meal.

"How do we reach the fire escape from here?" Alexis asked, as she and her partner forgot to ask Jimmy when they first met him.

"The neighboring door to the right leads to a break room with multiple doors. Go through the door at the end of the room and you'll both see the exit door." Kessler answered, while giving them instructions on finding the fire escape.

Knowing they couldn't say anything to change his mind about staying, Alexis and Sam had simply gathered up the ammo that Kessler had provided them into their backpacks and exited the room. They had also followed his instructions and made it to the fire escape. Once outside and on the cold steel grating, they had a clear bird's eye view of the trailer park...and they could see Daryl and Oscar running and fighting their way back to the gas station.

 _~Back with Daryl and Oscar~_

Once Dixon and Martinez had killed all the Walkers that came at them, they had made their way to the center of the trailer park. They had worked together and shoved a parked dark gray GMC Chevy sedan that was blocking their way. Knowing they had to do this fast, they immediately found Warren's uncle Lester...only to find he had been killed and turned into a zombie. Daryl had aimed his Glock 19 and fired a single 9mm round, the bullet passing clean through the Walker's forehead.

"Sorry about that Les, but we need those generator keys." The young man apologized before shooting him and lifting the keys off him.

"Okay, we got what we came here for. Let's get back to Warren." Oscar stated, as he had switched his Desert Eagle for his AK, before a huge mob of Walkers had came pouring out of the multiple trailer homes in the park!

"Let's get the Hell out of here Oscar!" Daryl exclaimed, as they were outnumbered and would be sure overwhelmed if they remained in the trailer park!

They had sprinted out of the trailer park, with the huge mob of Biters giving chase! Dixon had shot and killed the Walkers that were in front of them while Martinez turned around and fired a burst of rounds at the mob right behind them! He killed a total of six zombies, which had collapsed either backwards or face flat onto the grainy grass covered soil on the trail. Both Daryl and Oscar had made it back to the Lucky Les gas station, where they saw spotted Sam and Alexis there first, with their assault rifle carbine and submachine gun drawn out.

"Do you guys have the keys?" Alexis asked while she and Sam glanced around, making sure they were clear to make a run for the supermarket.

"Yeah, we've got it. Do you guys have the batteries?" Daryl answered while showing them the keys to the generator.

"Got 'em right here. We'll bring these to Blake and help him cover you guys and Warren. We'll meet you back at the cars." Sam answered back, while showing him and Oscar the batteries.

"Alright, we'll meet you guys there." Oscar answered for him and Daryl, who nodded, showing he understood the plan to meet up with Harmon, Clark and Blake back at the cars.

"Daryl, here's a Remington 700, along with enough ammo that Lexi and I found in the police station." Harmon added, while handing the bolt action hunting rifle and ammo to Dixon, whom gladly accepted the gun and ammo.

As Sam and Lexi made a dash for the supermarket with their Colt carbine and MP5A3 armed and ready, Daryl and Oscar had turned their attention to Warren, whom was waiting patiently for them.

"Do you guys have 'em?" Bedford asked while having a duffel bag slung over his left shoulder, showing he had packed a few personal items while they had gone to the trailer park.

"Got 'em right here pally." Martinez answered while Daryl showed him the key chain belonging to his uncle.

"Bingo! You guys just have to unlock the generator cage and we're in business!" Warren cried out in glee, after seeing the keys to the generator!

"...Are my dad and Uncle Lester behind you guys?" He asked, while worrying if his father and uncle were behind his two new friends.

"We're sorry Warren...they didn't make it." Daryl answered, while shaking his head 'no' and apologizing for telling him the bad news.

"I'll...I'll start getting the pumps ready." Bedford replied back weakly, while typing behind a computer console that still had juice in the gas station.

"Okay, it's done. One of you guys will have to unlock the cage and hit the primer. But be careful though, the sound from the generator will surely attract those things!" He added after getting the generator online, while warning Daryl and Oscar that the sound would attract how many other Walkers that were still prowling around.

 _~Back with Sam and Alexis~_

They had ran and shot their way to the back of the supermarket. Once they had shot and killed the Walkers inside the market and stepped out back in the alley, Harmon and Clark had climbed up the ladder and onto the roof. They had approached Jimmy, whom had been expecting Daryl, but was pleased to see them.

"Sam, Lexi. I'm guessing Dixon sent you here with the batteries?" Blake asked while already knowing they found and had what he needed.

"Here are the batteries you asked for Jimmy. Now you can do that radio check." Alexis answered while she handed him the batteries and Sam had glanced towards the corner of the roof where he saw Daryl opening the steel cage door to the generator.

"Okay, I'll run the scan. Once I'm done, we get the hell off this roof." The surviving cop answered after accepting the batteries and placing them in his radio.

"This is Officer Jimmy Blake of the Sedalia S.O. If there are any surviving police officers, please respond." Blake stated while speaking into his radio and heard nothing but silence.

"I repeat, this is Officer Jimmy Blake of the Sedalia Police Department. If there are any surviving police officers or deputies, please respond." He repeated, pleading and hoping for a response.

"This is Sheriff John Ed Turner of the Pemberton Police Department. I hear you Jimmy." A different male voice answered back after thirty seconds of radio static.

"Sheriff Turner, oh thank God! I thought there would be no one left alive in Pemberton!" Jimmy cried out, relieved that someone still alive in the next county!

"But not for long Jim. All my men are dead except for Deputy Lee, I sent him to Garwater and I've only got two deputies left here in Pemberton and we're greatly outnumbered! If you have any survivors that know how to fight with you, please get here ASAP!" The other male voice answered back, while the transmission was a little shaky from the static interference.

"Understood Sheriff, my new friends and I will try to reach Pemberton as fast as we can!" Blake answered before the radios went on the fritz and knowing he'd have to discuss about heading towards Pemberton with Daryl, Sam and his group when they escaped Sedalia.

"Do either Dixon or your friend have the fuel?" He asked after gathering up his personal supplies and readying his own Remington 700 after loading six bullets into the chamber and securing the bolt.

"They're just about done. Get ready." Sam answered, while he, Alexis and Jimmy had leveled the scopes/iron sights with their eyes and rested their fingers on the triggers.

"Now, fire!" The Texan ordered after they saw Daryl and Oscar finish filling up the four empty containers outside the Lucky Les gas station up with gasoline and a large herd of Walkers come running from everywhere in the town!

 _~Back with Daryl and Oscar~_

After they had finished gathering up as much fuel as they could, Daryl, Oscar and Warren had sprinted as fast as their legs could allow them! They were surprised as they witnessed a huge mob of Biters coming from the surrounding buildings; apartments, stores, the trailer park and police station right behind! They had turned around to fire their own handgun while running: Dixon fired his Glock, Martinez fired his Desert Eagle and Bedford was armed with a single nickel plated Taurus PT92AFS with a wooden grip.

While they fired while running, they had reached the Peterbilt cargo truck blocking the street and climbed up the rear ladder on top of the tank car. Sam, Alexis and Jimmy had provided cover like they promised; numerous Biters had collapsed after multiple bullets had passed through their heads. Blake had pulled back the bolt of his bolt action, ejecting the spent cartridge shell and fired again; blowing apart the heads of three Walkers! After Daryl, Oscar and Warren had climbed on top of the flat bed, they were surprised as a second herd of Walkers, that had came running from the apartment buildings/stores while Jess had taken cover in his and Daryl's 1962 Ford pick up!

But instead of panicking, Daryl had simply loaded the Remington 700 that Sam gave him and Oscar had swapped his Desert Eagle for his AK-103. They had worked together in clearing a path towards their vehicles; Dixon had took out at least three Walkers with a single head shot before reloading and Martinez had aimed left/right, killing at least 8-10 zombies! Warren had also lent a hand; with careful aim he killed at least seven Walkers with a single head shot. That was also when the cavalry arrived...Sam, Jimmy and Alexis had climbed down the ladder and exited through the front entrance of the pharmacy; guns blazing!

"Daryl, come one! You and your friends are clear!" Jess shouted as he joined in the fray; firing three separate shots and killing five Walkers from the back of their decayed and rotting skulls!

"We're coming Jess!" His nephew shouted back before he, Oscar and Warren climbed down from the Peterbilt and sprinted towards the Ford pick-up, Bronco and Scoupe!

The six armed survivors had continued firing as they ran across the street with what Walkers that were still alive behind them! But fortunately...they had reached the cars, jumped in, turned the keys and started the ignition! Warren had climbed into the pick-up, riding with Daryl and his uncle while Jimmy rode in the Bronco with Oscar. Sam and Alexis climbed into the Scoupe and all three vehicles had pulled out in reverse before taking off at high speed! The Walkers had gave chase after the pick-up, Bronco and Hyundai...but eventually gave up, while snarling angrily.

Today also hadn't been that awful for Daryl and his uncle; they had planned only to find supplied to survive on their own...and they ended up finding five survivors, with three that Daryl had slowly thought of and saw as friends.

 **A/N: There it is everyone, the ending to the Sedalia level and chapter. I'm sorry that it took me an incredibly long time to finishing and publishing it. The last couple of weeks had been pretty hectic and insane, especially while trying to sort out which Fanfic story to work on. I also had to really wrap my head around the chapter. The 3rd chapter will be when Daryl, Jess and the survivors stop somewhere safe for them to rest and getting to know each other.**


End file.
